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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

How fast is fast?

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Old 05-06-09, 11:54 AM
  #51  
The Weak Link
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"Raymond Poulidor wore his malediction like a virtual coat of shining armor."

That has nothing to do with anything but that's one of the coolest quotes I've ever come across. I'd love to have that etched into my gravestone.
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Old 05-06-09, 11:58 AM
  #52  
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well i don't want to jump into the nice argument here, but don't most TdF stages end up around 40 km/h avg? (50 for TTs)

anyway, i was happy to find out last thursday that while races do obviously have a faster pace, you don't need to be able to average 25 mph by yourself to hang on.

i can at best average 20 mph over shorter distances (it's hilly out here, what can i say?), but was able to hang on in the (4/5) crit and end up with an average speed of 38 km/h. yes it was harder than my normal training rides, but i lived and never got dropped. (and yes i know that's a "slow" crit, but like i said we have hills out here)

a lot of it is about drafting, don't let race speeds scare you too much. my $0.02.
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Old 05-06-09, 03:37 PM
  #53  
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I kind of think that ridiculous speed is fast enough.
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Old 05-06-09, 07:25 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by VA_Esquire
over9000
New**** can't 7

Most the cat 5 races I have been in are in the 21-22 range. Rolling hills and chip seal roads slow things down a bit.

Last edited by Trucker Dan; 05-06-09 at 07:32 PM.
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Old 05-06-09, 08:03 PM
  #55  
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Hey, anybody know where I can get some?
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Old 05-06-09, 08:30 PM
  #56  
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Like I told the gang I sneakily passed last weekend:


"I'm *really* fast...




... when I have the wind in my back"


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Old 05-06-09, 08:39 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
If you're faster than me, you're fast. If you're not, you suck.

I think that everyone uses this rule.
i am going with this as the best answer!
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Old 05-06-09, 08:43 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by MongoosePaver
"fast-paced criterium race in the Pro ranks here in the US is only in the upper 20's, and that's for an hour."
What planet are you on?

If you're just a little faster than MongoosePaver, you are slow.
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Old 05-06-09, 08:45 PM
  #59  
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I assume we're talking ground speed not air speed. In the case of ground speed I once did 223mph.
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Old 05-06-09, 08:47 PM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by botto
go away.
^That

Originally Posted by MongoosePaver
OP asked how fast is fast. Last time I checked there isn't a more elite or faster crowd than the people in the TDF. So an average of 24.7 mph is quite fast. That's it.
No.

Last edited by fbxcore; 05-06-09 at 08:51 PM.
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Old 05-06-09, 08:48 PM
  #61  
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my wrx made 135+ in west texas before i got scared of what would happen if i hit a deer.
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Old 05-06-09, 08:51 PM
  #62  
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yes
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Old 05-06-09, 09:03 PM
  #63  
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On a velodrome, no drafting, for an hour

Current UCI record is 30.882 miles

Fast recreational rider is 22

Average joe recreational rider is 17

I made the last two numbers up, but they're probably close. The raw deal is, some people are natural athletes, and some aren't.
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Old 05-06-09, 09:59 PM
  #64  
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Originally Posted by umd
races are not usually won by TT'ing away from everyone.
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Old 05-06-09, 10:18 PM
  #65  
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Originally Posted by Racer Ex
I said usually. I know you've done it, I've seen it done in races, but it's still the exception...
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Old 05-06-09, 10:20 PM
  #66  
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Originally Posted by Trucker Dan
Most the cat 5 races I have been in are in the 21-22 range. Rolling hills and chip seal roads slow things down a bit.
You must have some slow cat 5s...
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Old 05-06-09, 10:48 PM
  #67  
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Originally Posted by umd
I said usually. I know you've done it, I've seen it done in races, but it's still the exception...
Sorry, couldn't resist.
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Old 05-06-09, 10:52 PM
  #68  
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Originally Posted by Racer Ex
Sorry, couldn't resist.
The guy that one one of the road race stages at Gila won a cat 3 crit here a few weeks ago by TTing off halfway through. Not the stage where you passed a bunch of the cat 3 field though
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Old 05-06-09, 11:18 PM
  #69  
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I tend to go by the Cascade Bicycle Club's ride classification here in Seattle. It assumes average speed you can maintain in the flats. This classification accomodates all classes of riders, so it's a pretty broad range. I believe it to be pretty accurate gauge of what is fast. For my money on a flat ride, if you are going over 20 mph, thats better than average--and depending on the company it can be considered pretty fast.

Easy: Under 10 mph
Leisurely: 10-12 mph
Steady: 12-14 mph
Moderate: 14-16 mph
Brisk: 16-18 mph
Strenuous: 18-21 mph
Super Strenuous: 22+ mph

I trained really hard and rode the Seattle to Portland (STP) in one day two years ago, I got into some really quick pacelines and even with all the stoplights I averaged 20.5 MPH over the first 100 miles (probably 24-25 in those pacelines). I felt destroyed after that--I ended up outrunning all the guys in pacelines (I had four water bottles and was skipping the foodstops that they kept stopping at) and was largely alone (except for a wheelsucker for 10 miles who never said a word to me and refused to pull) and ended up averaging 19 -19.5 for 206 miles. At the end I didn't care how fast I was going I was in total survival mode--it was hot and windy. I remember dropping a water bottle; I did not even think of stopping to pick it up, i was too tired to consider stopping getting off my bike and then starting again--I was on fumes. I started the ride at 144 lbs and at the end, after weighed 138 lbs.
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Old 05-06-09, 11:26 PM
  #70  
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Fast...

1 hour... 50 km... solo.
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